


6th September 1985

by QueenFanatics



Series: A Night to Forget universe [1]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:16:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29609298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenFanatics/pseuds/QueenFanatics
Summary: Another oneshot in the "Munich sequel" universe. It takes place years after A Night To Forget. John and Freddie's relationship wasn't doing too well and it took a big hit when Freddie moved to Munich to work on his solo album. In simple words - It is based off of the scene in the movie where Mary comes to Munich to "save" Freddie.John receives a late night phone call from a panicking Freddie, saying that he's gone blind and John makes a decision to go to Munich.
Relationships: John Deacon/Freddie Mercury
Series: A Night to Forget universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2175387
Comments: 25
Kudos: 30





	6th September 1985

_5th September 1985_

It had all happened very fast. One night John got a late night call from Freddie in Munich - the singer was panicking and talking in circles, barely making any sense and claiming he was blind and couldn't see anything. It was very shocking to be woken up by a phone call like that, especially after not speaking to Freddie or hearing anything from him for actual months. They talked for half an hour that night - mostly about silly things and the cats - and eventually Freddie calmed down and apparently dozed off because then Phoebe took over and thanked John for talking to Freddie. 

  
John did not ask many questions, but he did ask a very important one. 

  
"Who was it?"

  
Who was responsible for it? Who gave Freddie the drugs to make him blind for hours? He knew they were having a party for Freddie's birthday - his first birthday in years that they had spent apart. Brian had informed him of the party days ago and that he was invited - Roger was as well, but he refused to attend as he and Freddie were not on good terms at the moment. 

  
Of course John knew there would be drugs and alcohol at that party - it was to be expected - and he has seen Freddie drunk and high out of his mind in the past, but never before has he witnessed Freddie be in that panicked state. He was barely making any sense and by the sounds of it - he was sobbing. He was completely terrified.

  
"It's ... you know," Phoebe said with a sigh and that was all John needed to know. 

Of course he knew who it was. There was one person who was always introducing Freddie to new things, new drugs. Not to say that Freddie was innocent in all of it, he often sent his assistants to get him substances, but with that phone call in the middle of the night and Freddie being in the state that he was in ... John knew someone else was responsible because Freddie - as stupid as he often was - would never put himself in a danger like that and try out a new drug that would cause blindness. Perhaps that was John subconsciously making excuses for Freddie, because no matter what - there were still deep feelings between them and he'd still rather blame someone else than blame Freddie. 

_6th September 1985_

John did not sleep much more that night. He couldn't wait for the morning so he could book a flight to Munich. A few hours later he was already on the plane, with a bodyguard. He was advised against going to see Freddie by Reid, Miami and even Roger, but he didn't listen. 

The entire travel day was a blur to John. It was nine in the evening when they finally reached the house Freddie was apparently living at while in Munich. John stepped out of the taxi - into the pouring rain - and took a good look at the house, a nervous feeling in the pit of the stomach. But not once did he think this was a mistake. He hasn't seen or spoken to Freddie in months - not counting that phone call in the middle of the night. It was tricky trying to convince his bodyguard to just leave him there and go to the hotel without him. Eventually they agreed that the bodyguard would wait in the taxi until John was safely in the house. 

The bassist did not even have an umbrella and the rain was making it impossible to see clearly. He ran up to the gate and was just starting to rehearse in his head what he'd say after ringing that bell. But just as he approached the gate, it suddenly started opening and John could hear voices - male voices - and they were speaking German and also very broken English. 

  
He stopped, not sure if he should approach them or wait till they walked away. He looked back at the taxi with his bodyguard in it and he felt a bit safer - he was in the middle of Germany, after all. It was all unfamiliar to him, he didn't speak the language, it was dark and it was raining like crazy. And those German guys seemed very drunk, they were singing and laughing and hugging each other. And drunk people always made John nervous and uncomfortable.

"Yes, yes, we'll talk tomorrow!"

John froze when he heard that. He recognized that voice.

Paul.

John stood there, watching Paul get hugged by those drunk German guys, and then he made a split second decision to just ... slip past them. He did not want to deal with Paul, all he wanted was to get to Freddie and ... make sure he was alright. 

  
John still had no plan after that - he knew he wanted to see Freddie in person and that was it. Perhaps Freddie would refuse to talk to him, perhaps he'd send him away. Not wanting to think about that possibility, the bassist pushed the negative thought away. Before he even realized it, John found himself rushing right past those German guys and Paul, straight towards the house. 

  
His heart was beating in his chest like crazy at the realization that he would see Freddie again. His nerves were making him even a bit sick and his stomach was in literal knots. 

  
_Freddie_.

  
A part of him registered someone calling his name and he could hear a person running, but all John saw at that moment was the front door and he was so very close to it and just as he was about to step inside - 

  
"What are you doing here?" Paul demanded as he pushed past him and stopped at the doorway, blocking the way for John. 

Paul looked shocked to see him there, that much was obvious, and he even seemed concerned and very nervous. His eyes kept moving, unable to hold still and focus on one thing at the time, but perhaps that was the drugs.

  
That question startled John a bit, but he quickly regained his composure, "I-I'm here to see Freddie."

  
"Why?"

  
John blinked at him in confusion, "W-Why? Because ... " he started explaining, but then paused. Why was he explaining to Paul why he wanted to see Freddie? His husband and - 

  
That thought cut through John like a knife, but he used that pain as a fuel. 

  
"I want to see him," he demanded, "Let me in. Is ... is he here?"

  
"He's ... sleeping," Paul explained nervously, "You should come back tomorrow." 

  
"I'm not leaving until I see him."

  
Paul seemed to get even more nervous and he looked behind John, "Was that your taxi? It's still waiting for you. You should go to a hotel and ... return tomorrow. I can get you an umbrella - "

  
"I'm not leaving until I see him," John repeated, a lot stronger this time. 

  
"He's not in any state to ... to be having any kind of a conversation at the moment, John."

  
"Why not?" the bassist asked and then remembered those German guys that he saw leaving and then realized they probably had a party or something. Paul definitely smelled of cigarettes and his breath smelled of alcohol. Even his eyes were a bit red and it made John very uncomfortable. But he refused to show it. 

  
"Move," he demanded, trying to look intimidating. Freddie, _his_ Freddie, was right there in that house. They haven't been this close in months and John desperately wanted - _needed_ \- to see him. Just to see him. And make sure that he was alright. 

  
Paul shook his head, "I can't do that, John."

  
John could not believe it. Paul actually refused to let him inside the house. Yes, him and Paul did have lots of issues over the years, but Paul never behaved like that.   
"Move," John tried again, and then added, "That's ... that's an order."

  
John was never the one to pull that card and act bossy, but at that moment he needed to remind Paul of it and let him know that kind of a behavior simply wasn't acceptable.

  
But then Paul smirked, "I'm not working for you anymore, John. I'm working for Freddie. And it is my job to make sure no one disturbs him."

  
John could not believe what was happening. He could feel fear slowly building inside of him and a part of him even considered going back to the taxi to get his bodyguard, but then he dismissed that idea. 

  
This was just Paul.

  
A bodyguard was not necessary. 

  
Without saying another word, John pushed his way past Paul and he actually managed to do that - it probably took the older man by surprise and he stumbled a bit before rushing after the bassist.

  
"Fred-" 

  
John could not even finish the word when Paul grabbed his arm and pulled him back, "Keep your voice down! He is asleep!"

  
"W-Wake him up, then!"

  
Paul finally let go of John's arm and cleared his throat, taking a few deep breaths as if to try and calm himself. And John used that time to look around and what he saw was absolutely horrible. 

  
The room was messy.

  
There were bottles on the coffee table and on the floor, ashtrays everywhere. Some kind of pills all over the coffee table. All kids of color. And then there was that white powder next to the pills. John could see it clearly and he wasn't stupid. He knew that wasn't baking powder.

  
"I'll tell him you were looking for him," Paul said calmly.

  
"No."

  
"I'll have him call you tomorrow morning, yes?"

  
"No," John crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to leave, "I want to see him."

  
"He doesn't want to see you."

  
Those simple words cut through John like a knife, but he tried to keep his face unbothered by it. Even though he could just feel himself failing at it - his cheeks were burning and his lower lips refused to stop trembling.

  
"If you wake him up right now ... he'll be pissed, John. You don't want to see him pissed."

  
John had to let out a laugh at that, "You're actually ... warning me about _my_ husband? As if you know him better than I do?"

  
_Husband._

  
There was that word again. It just escaped John.

  
Slowly continuing, John put on a strong face, "I-I'm not afraid of him. He never gave me a reason to. So just ... go and get him."

  
Paul kept looking behind John, towards the direction of the stairs and John knew Freddie's bedroom was upstairs.

  
"I can't do that, John. As you can see ... we've just had a party. I need to tidy the place up. Freddie's probably dead asleep. Or ... maybe he's ... busy with someone upstairs. I don't want to intrude on ... whatever he's up to."

  
_Busy with someone?_

  
That did get to John and did not even try to hide it. What did he mean by Freddie being busy with someone? He didn't ... he didn't mean that, did he? He couldn't - 

  
Ignoring Paul, John made another attempt to walk up the stairs, but Paul grabbed his arm again, pulling him back. He was a lot rougher this time and it actually scared John. 

  
"Ow!" the bassist cried out, trying to keep himself from falling down.

  
"I'm just doing my job here, John," Paul explained as he started dragging John towards the front door, "You are not allowed inside this house, as you are not allowed in Garden Lodge. You are trespassing."

  
"W-What?"

  
"Do you have any money for a taxi? If not, I can give - "

  
"I'm not leaving!" John struggled and tried to get out of Paul's grip, but his struggling only made Paul angrier. Eventually he twisted John's arm, causing the bassist to cry out louder. His heart was racing - it seemed as if his mind was not yet fully aware of what was happening, but his body was going by instinct and was trying to escape from Paul and in the process, he was grabbing at everything he could get his free hand on.

  
John grabbed onto the sofa, then the coffee table, but Paul was stronger and he finally let go of John's arm only for a moment. The bassist tried to move away from him - cradling his hurt arm to his chest - but then Paul just grabbed him from behind, raising him up and trying to literally carry him out of the house. 

  
John never imagined something like this would happen. He never imagined Paul would get this rough and violent with him. Never. 

  
For a moment he was just crippled with fear, but then he snapped out of it and started to yell for Freddie, all the while thrashing about and kicking his legs. He did end up hitting something and it dropped onto the floor and smashed, but John couldn't see what it was. A vase? A glass? A bottle? 

  
"Freddie! F-Freddie! I'm - " John screamed as he was carried towards the front door, and then suddenly Paul covered his mouth with his hand, trying to keep him quiet. 

  
And that was not good. It was not good at all. 

  
John felt his entire body turn icy cold as bad memories washed over him. He just went numb, his eyes filling with tears. 

  
"What the fuck are you doing, Paul?" 

  
John was immediately let go of and he stumbled for a moment, almost dropping to the floor, but he leaned against a wall before looking up.

  
_Freddie_.

  
Freddie was there. He was actually there, standing just a few steps away from him, and he looked ... different. He was skinnier and a lot paler than John remembered him. His hair was a mess. As was his moustache. He needed to shave. And he could see the red eyes, along with those dark circles under his eyes. Freddie looked ... sick. He wasn't the Freddie John knew and remembered.

  
But there was that smile. A barely noticeable smile that Freddie was giving him in that moment, and John just knew he was giving him the same smile back. 

  
There was no reason for them to be smiling at each other - they were on horrible terms, they hurt each other and refused to speak to each other for months. Why were there silly smiles on their faces then?

  
They just stared at each other for a long moment - it seemed to be for eternity, and Freddie's eyes moved up and down John, as if he wasn't sure if what he was seeing was real.

  
"John."

  
"F-Freddie."

  
"John is here!" Paul suddenly said, clearing his throat and trying to act excited.

  
And then Freddie finally managed to look away from the bassist and his eyes settled on Paul. The smile was immediately gone. John has never seen Freddie this angry before. Never. He was angry to the point of not even raising his voice or moving at all and it sent shivers down John's body. 

  
"What the fuck were you doing, Paul?"

  
"I-I was ... I was ... I was about to inform you that John is here and - "

  
Freddie took a step forward, clenching his fists, "What the fuck were you doing with him? Was he supposed to wait for me outside or what exactly was the plan?"

  
"No, no," Paul quickly answered, letting out a nervous laugh, "We were just ... T-Tell him, John. I wasn't doing anything."

  
As those words left his mouth, Paul moved closer to John and even tried to touch him, but the bassist flinched away and rushed towards Freddie, stepping behind him. 

  
He was _terrified_.

  
He could feel himself shaking from head to toe, unable to calm down.

  
Yes, there were moments in the past when John was annoyed by Paul, he was often made to feel uncomfortable by Paul, but he was never _terrified_ of him. He was never handled violently by him. Not like this.

  
Freddie extended his arm so that he was shielding John from Paul completely and then he uttered a simple word, "Out."

  
The fear that washed through Paul was very obvious and at that moment John actually felt bad for him. 

  
"O-Out? Freddie, lets just talk about this in the morning - "

  
The singer stepped forward, grabbing Paul's arm and dragging him towards the door, " _Out_ , I said."

  
"F-Freddie, I have nowhere to go! You are being unreasonable! We can sit down and talk - "

  
"This was the first and last time you've put your hands on John."

  
"I didn't even ... "

  
"Get the fuck out before I do something I ... I definitely will _not_ regret. But you will."

  
Even John was taken aback by the sheer rage and coldness he could hear in Freddie's tone. There were just a handful of times he heard Freddie speak in that tone and it was years ago.

  
He slowly walked after them, but stopped at a safe distance, hugging himself with his arms. He was soaking wet, he could feel the clothes sticking to his body, but he wasn't cold. At least he could not _feel_ the coldness. The adrenaline was still making his heart race like crazy and he was afraid it might actually jump out of his chest.

  
"Out!" Freddie repeated, this time even pushing Paul towards the door.

  
"You can't fire me!" 

  
The singer said nothing to that, he just grabbed Paul by his neck and dragged him out of the house. A part of John wanted to follow, but he could not bring himself to move from the spot. He could hear them arguing outside, but it was difficult to make out any words. Even though he knew Freddie - or at least he thought he knew him - he was afraid of the singer doing something stupid. Clearly, there were drugs involved. Both Freddie and Paul were high or coming down from it, and the situation could get dangerous. Never in his worst nightmares did he imagine Paul would dare to put his hands on him, but he did, so clearly everything was possible.

  
Just as John was starting to get worried, he heard footsteps and finally Freddie returned to the house, closing the door behind him.

  
Oh god.

  
He looked so bad. Still handsome, but just ... _bad_. He looked like a mess. The singer seemed a bit hesitant and tried approaching John, but then stopped in his tracks, barely blinking.

  
"Are you ... ?"

  
"I'm okay," John answered quietly, unable to look away from Freddie. He could not bring himself to tear his eyes away from him, even though it was painful to hold that eye contact. It was painful to see him again and to be this close to him and to speak to him, to hear his voice after everything that has happened in the last few months.

  
"You're h-here," Freddie whispered, his eyes wide open, "How did - ?"

  
"Plane. T-Taxi." 

  
"You're alone?"

  
"I-I had someone with me, but I sent him to the hotel."

  
Freddie slowly nodded and then snapped out of his trance as he looked around and immediately shame washed over him. The house was a mess and it was very clear that there were things lying around that he did not want John to see. 

  
He then lowered his eyes and saw John still holding his hand to his chest and that the bassist seemed to be soaking wet; and he immediately went into caring mode. That transition was so smooth and it felt so natural - even though Freddie had no one to look after and care after in months. That side of him was definitely put on hold. But it was clearly like riding a bicycle. Without saying anything he just rushed down a hallway and disappeared into one of the rooms. He came back a minute later with a blanket and first went to wrap it around John, but then stopped himself and just offered it to John awkwardly. 

  
"Thank you," the bassist accepted it and clumsily wrapped the blanket around himself and then he just awkwardly stood there, not knowing what to do. 

  
He didn't plan this part. 

  
The only thing on his mind - the only goal - he's had since getting that phone call was _seeing_ Freddie. But he didn't really think about what to do afterwards. Should he just leave now?

  
"I-I'll make you some ... t-tea and ... and you need some ice for that wrist," the singer quickly offered, "Lets ... lets go to the kitchen, yes? I-I'll get you some dry clothes ... " he trailed off, clearly very confused and disoriented.

  
Nodding his head, John followed Freddie, walking behind him slowly. The singer kept looking back every few steps as if afraid he'd lose John or that John would just disappear. 

It was surreal.

Being in Freddie's presence once again - especially in those circumstances - and while it was anything but romantic and magical and full of fuzzy feelings, deep down John knew he was where he was supposed to be. Even though he had no idea what the night would bring, where their conversation was going to go. This person that he used to call his _husband_ and was the person he trusted the most, was now just somebody that he used to know. The feelings were still there, but it was all very painful and John did not allow himself to get too hopeful. 

**Author's Note:**

> So .. what did you think? Too angsty? ;)


End file.
